Project Genderbend
by Rainbowkiwii
Summary: Aranea Serket's parents are FBI agents, and one of their prime suspects of a major crime is one of Aranea's classmates: Meenah Peixes. Now, Aranea is going undercover as a boy to try and "befriend"/get information out of Meenah. But what happens when Aranea starts to fall in love with their suspect? (Humanstuck AU)
1. Chapter 1

Totally bullshiting Aranea's dad's name btw

* * *

Aranea Serket's parents hardly ever came home from work. But when they did, Aranea rejoiced the time that they had together.

But not tonight.

Instead of coming home with good attitudes and smiles, Aranea's mom and dad were more frustrated than the teen had ever seen them. The door was slammed, which was a bad sign all on its own. But when her mom stormed into the kitchen and pulled up the laptop immediately, Aranea knew something was wrong.

"H-hi mom, welcome home. Would you like something to drink?" her daughter asked. Her mom stopped, sighed, and smiled.

"Really Aranea, it's nice of you to do all of this. But I'm kind of busy right now, okay?" Mrs. Serket said.

"Well, can I help you at all?" Aranea offered. She was pretty smart for a teenager, being the daughter of two secret agents and all. Her mom only smiled a weary smile.

"Thank you Aranea, but we-"

"Actually, we do need your help." Aranea's father said as he stepped through the door. She ran over and hugged her father, wondering what kind of help she'd give. She loved solving complex problems, and decoding passwords. She couldn't wait to exercise her mind and-

"We're going to need you to go to school from now on as a boy." her father said.

_Wait, WHAT?_

"Arthur, we will not have our daughter going to school dressing like a boy just to get closer with the subject. That's dangerous and you know it." Mrs. Serket hissed at her father.

"Well we really have no other option, Marquise. Besides, it's not like I'm forcing her to go to school like this. She has the option to say yes or no." Mr. Serket said. They both looked over at their daughter. She honestly didn't know what to pick. She didn't even know why she had to transform into a boy. All she knew was that she wanted to make mom and dad proud.

"I'll do it." she said with a determined tone. This was nothing compared to what she normally did anyway, so she thought it was going to be a piece of cake. Her father lit up with joy while her mom still looked skeptical. But Aranea had made them proud, which was a good thing in her book.

"Thank you so much Aranea. We'll get started immediately." her father said excitedly. Aranea couldn't help but take notice of her father's enthusiasm, and was pleased at her decision.

The first thing Mr. Serket did was cut and dye Aranea's hair, which wasn't that hard considering it was short anyway. By the time he was done, it still looked pretty much normal, only the hair in the back was to a point on her neck, instead of sticking out, like a girl's cut. Also, it was now blonde instead of black. She actually had to admit that she liked this cut on her.

The second thing that had to be taken care of was Aranea's... chest area. She was kind of busty, and that was not acceptable for a boy. So, they got some bandage, and managed to shrink her chest down to where she could wear baggy-ish clothes and look normal. While she did admit that she was going to miss wearing make up, she did like that she didn't have to worry about her breasts anymore.

The third and final step was her wardrobe. It went from brilliant dresses to baggy shirts and boy shorts and jeans. Although she cringed at the change, it didn't affect her attitude too much. At least she could keep her necklace of the man who promised to pretty much abolish racism. He went by the name of the Sufferer, and was her biggest inspiration. She smiled as she got ready for her first day of school as a boy. She'd bring this villain down no matter what. She swore on the Sufferer's spirit.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day was a little bit weird for Aranea. It was almost weird to not be able to talk to her friends like normal, although her family did move a lot and she often lost connection with many of them anyway. So it wasn't all that strange. But it did make her slightly sad to see them grieving over her "move."

"Why didn't she tell us she was moving?" one of them complained. The other one sighed.

"I don't know Porrim. Do you think she moved because we secretly annoyed her?" Aranea was shocked. She wanted to run over and tell them that they wouldn't be her friends if they were nuisances, but she couldn't. And it killed her.

She made her way over to homeroom for orientation, as every new student had to do. Coincidentally, this was the same homeroom as Meenah Peixes, the suspect in the case that her parents had taken over. Now that she thought about it, what was the case even about? Even more important, how did a sophomore manage to be accused of something obviously big enough for the FBI to handle?

"Class, I'd like you all to meet a new student of ours!" Mrs. Harley, the homeroom teacher, announced enthusiastically. A couple of the girls sat up and stared straight at Aranea, making her nervous.

_Do they really think I'm attractive?_ Aranea wondered.

"This young man's name is Araneo. Kind of like Aranea, but with an O." Mrs. Harley said. Aranea groaned internally.

_Really dad? This was the name you came up with?_ She never doubted her dad's intelligence, but sometimes she questioned it.

"Araneo, would you like to say something?" Mrs. Harley asked cheerfully.

Oh shit.

Aranea had hardly anytime to practice her boy voice. This was the ultimate test.

"Uh, nothin' much to say, I guess." she said. It seemed to work, because nobody's expression changed. She had passed the test.

"Alright, take your seat next to Kankri and Meenah then." the teacher said, turning to the chalkboard to continue whatever she was doing. Aranea made her way back to the back of the classroom, where Kankri and Meenah both sat. Meenah just gave her a glare, but Kankri wasted no time making Aranea feel welcome.

"Greetings Araneo. As you could probably tell, I'm Kankri Vantas, and it's a pleasure to meet you. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, you may always come to me for things of that nature. Also, when we do talk, I recommend you tag a list of possible triggers, so I can make sure not to offend you in anyway." Kankri whispered.

"Uh, thanks Kankri." Aranea said.

_Classic Kankri, always talking up a storm._ she thought as she turned to the teacher to pay attention to announcements. Once announcements were done, the whole class was set in silent study hall mode. Everyone except the trouble makers and Aranea worked. Considering Aranea had nothing to do, she couldn't help but asses Meenah, just to kind of get a feel to what she was like. She turned her head to glance at her enemy.

Meenah was pretty skinny as well as dark skinned. She even dressed like she was a diva. Her hair was short and spiked up, with two long braids trailing to the floor. So in short, Aranea would have a hard time making friends with her since she was almost the opposite of her. But, she would do it eventually. She wasn't even aware that she had been staring that long, until a note was passed to her, from Meenah.

'The fuck are you starin' at?' the note read. Aranea blushed and responded.

'Sorry. You just look interesting, and I haven't really got a chance to talk to you.' she responded, hoping Meenah would let it go. She didn't.

'Well if ya really wanted to talk, meet me at lunch, and we'll fuckin talk.' she wrote.

Aranea's heart pounded with excitement and nervousness. Meenah looked like a girl who could fuck somebody up really badly. But at the same time, Aranea finally had the chance to talk to her suspect.


	3. Chapter 3

Finally, lunchtime came. Aranea took a deep breath and made her way toward the cafeteria. Once she got her food, she proceeded to look for Meenah. She spent a lot of time scanning the area. Where the hell was-

"Lookin' for someone?" a voice said from behind, causing Aranea to jump. Meenah laughed as she turned around. Aranea wasn't mad at her, but it did remind her to keep on her guard at all times. She smiled a light smile.

"C'mon Araneo, let's sit outside." Meenah said. Aranea gasped. She knew for a fact that sitting outside during lunch was forbidden. And to think that Meenah would just recklessly break the rules like a-

Oh yeah. Meenah didn't follow the rules. And that meant Araneo had to be a rule breaker too. Aranea swallowed.

"Y-yeah sure. Let's go." Aranea said in her best boy voice, trying not to crack. Meenah tilted her head in confusion. Aranea swallowed for what seemed like the billionth time, and thought that she had finally caught on to her disguise. What would she even do if Meenah caught her? Aranea would have a hell of a time explaining why she was still at school, and a boy. Oh god, what if-

"You don't really wanna go outside, do ya?" she asked Aranea. Oh. That's what she was wondering about. Aranea sighed and nodded. "Yeah, not everyone wants to go outside in this weather." she said, gesturing out to the pouring rain. Aranea looked outside, and let out another sigh, this time a sigh of relief. They traveled to the hallway to eat, which the school was okay with. When they both sat down, it was quiet for the first few minutes, and they sat there awkwardly eating their food. Then, Meenah looked up at Aranea.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" she asked. Aranea froze. How was she going to tell Meenah that she wanted to spend more time with her, especially because she was pretending to be a guy now. It was going to be awkward, that was for damn sure.

"Well, uh, I just noticed that you didn't have a lot of friends, so I kinda wanted to get to know you better, since, uh, I don't really have any friends either." Aranea said, smiling. On the outside, she smiled for her potential friend. But on the inside, she was face palming so hard that her theoretical hand was going through her theoretical head.

_How come I was an idiot and told her that she looked like she had no friends? Ugh, I'm going to fail this mission so badly, I can just see it now..._ she thought dejectedly. But to her surprise and delight, Meenah seemed to take the excuse.

"Alright, seems legit. But, uh, haven't the other students told you about me?" she asked. Aranea shook her head, even though she knew full well what Meenah was like.

"According to the school, I'm a big bitch, and fuckin rude, and a trouble maker. I also never speak up in class, cuz that shit is boring." she said. Yep. Just as Aranea thought.

"Yeah, class puts me to sleep all the time. But you don't seem like any of the things you just said." Aranea half lied. Meenah only turned away at the compliment, leaving Aranea to wonder whether _anything_ nice had ever been said about her. She decided she would eventually change that, but first, a casual conversation was in order. By talking about things like normal friends, Aranea was taking her first step towards getting information.

They talked for a half an hour more discovering that they both liked quirky little things before they discovered that lunch was over.

"It was good talkin to ya Araneo. We should talk tomorrow too." Meenah said as she split off to go to class. Aranea nodded. She was planning on speaking to her tomorrow anyway, because Meenah didn't really seem like the dangerous suspect Aranea was after.

But you never know.


	4. Chapter 4

"Welcome home dear. We'll be leaving you and Vriska home for about a month tomorrow. How was your first day of school?" her mom asked, eyeing the laptop.

"It was pretty good actually. I instantly became friends with Meenah." Aranea's mom looked surprised.

"Well that was fast. Did you like being a boy?" she asked. Aranea shrugged.

"Eh. It was weird, I guess. But it's pretty easy, aside from the voice." she said. Her mom closed her laptop.

"Well, you're starting PE tomorrow right?"

"Uh yeah, why?"

"It looks like you'll have to face one more challenge then." Mrs. Serket said as she put her laptop in her bag. Aranea didn't get it at first.

And then it hit her...

_Oh shit._

The next day, Aranea went to school, feeling more nervous than ever. She had PE second period, which meant that she had to figure out a way to get dressed and keep the bandages intact. Her first idea was to go into the bathroom stall and change. But then her mind flew in different directions. It took her sometime to convince herself to go forward with this plan.

_What if they think I'm weird, or they call me some profanity? Oh wait, I'm the new kid. I shouldn't care about this. But what if I get bullied too much and blow my cover somehow? Okay, timeout!_ she thought, exasperated from all the thinking. She gave a deep breath and laid back in her seat. She was going through with this plan. No matter how weird it was. Just then, she noticed Meenah staring at her from across the room, with a "the fuck are you doin" stare. Aranea only waved sheepishly to her. She really hoped class would go slower than it normally did.

PE came, and the locker room situation was nicer than she thought. Nobody even paid attention to her, thank God. But the real trouble began when she got into the gym.

They decided to start out the PE year with wrestling. Of course it was for boys only, while the girls got gymnastics and yoga. The teacher blew his whistle, pulling Aranea out of her thoughts.

"The first two people wrestling will be Araneo and Cronus!" the teacher said. Oh, that's just fantastic. Aranea got to wrestle with the school pervert. There's no way that he wouldn't be feeling her up during the match, which made this ten times worse. She stepped up to the mats and eyed Cronus with her best death glare, letting him know that she was serious about murdering him if he touched her. He only smiled back and waved. Even some of the other boys looked at her with a hint of pity in their eyes.

"Ready! Set! Wrestle!" the teacher said. The teacher barely got the word 'wrestle' out before Cronus pounced on Aranea. She gave out a tiny yelp and jumped backwards, then quickly jumped on top of him and pinned him instantly (she was pretty proud that she hadn't forgotten those martial arts lessons she had taken as a kid). She would've been happy that she was winning if not for the fact that he suddenly stopped struggling under her weight. He looked confused, causing everyone to stare in confusion.

"Araneo... Do... do you have boobs?" he asked. Aranea could've sworn that she had turned bright red at that moment, but shook her head quickly.

"It's a, uh, skin condition. I have to wear bandages to keep it covered." she said, sounding more and more ridiculous as she talked. A couple of boys snickered at her while the rest of them mocked Cronus for asking such a seemingly stupid question.

"Wow Cronus, way to go and embarrass the new kid." one of them said as he slapped Cronus on the back and headed back into the crowd. Cronus, who had turned really bright red, mumbled a quick apology and scrambled back into the crowd. The gym teacher shook his head.

_Kids these days..._

Aranea burst out of the locker room, and practically high-tailed it to the next class. Gym was going to be absolute _torture_, so she figured the least she could do was get out of the torture as soon as possible. She checked the time as she ran and wasn't really paying attention, when all the sudden, she crashed into someone, her binder spilling everywhere.

"Oh! I'm really sorry!" she said, looking up at the victim.

Wait a minute...

"Sup Araneo. Long time no see." Meenah said casually as she helped Aranea collect her stuff.

"Oh. Hi Meenah." she said, helping Meenah collect her stuff. It was odd to her that Meenah would be the one helping someone collect their stuff. In fact, she seemed like a person who'd actually push someone's papers out of their hands.

After all the papers were collected, Meenah and Aranea parted ways, and Aranea almost swore she caught a small smile from Meenah as they said goodbye. In her mind, something was definitely up.

Lunch time came around quickly, and they found themselves sitting in the hallway once again. They talked even more, mostly about the music that they liked. However, their conversation was soon interrupted by a phone call from Meenah.

"Ugh, sorry Araneo, it's my mom." she said as she walked away to take the call. Aranea decided this was the perfect time to do some investigative work. She rounded the corner that Meenah had gone behind to listen in.

"...no mom, I didn't see dad in the news...well why would I care?..no, I don't wanna, and you can't make me. I'll do my own thug stuff when I want to!..yeah, whatever." And with that, she angrily hung up the phone. Meanwhile, Aranea stood around the corner, shocked at what she just heard. What did she mean by 'seeing dad on the news?' and 'thug stuff?' She snapped out of her thoughts when she found Meenah walking back to where they were meeting. Aranea very quickly tip tied back to where they met, just in time for Meenah to get back and not suspect a thing. Meenah looked pissed, but calmed down enough to continue the conversation with Aranea.

By the time they were done, Meenah was in a better mood, and they both parted ways on good terms. However, Aranea was still suspicious of Meenah's true intentions. She just hoped that her suspicion didn't show too much.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey everyone! So I'm sure a lot of you noticed my mistake in the last chapter (Meenah calling her 'Serket' instead of the last name I wanted to put there) But it's fixed now, so there's no need to be confused anymore! (Note to self: don't write chapters at 3 a.m.)

* * *

Unfortunately for Aranea, Meenah had been absent the next day she was planning to investigate, so she spent it disappointed. However, she was excited that she could still tell mom and dad her latest developments on the situation when she got home.

The day passed slowly, but lunchtime soon came, and Aranea soon found that she had been hanging out with Meenah so much that she had nowhere else to sit. She walked around the cafeteria until she spotted Kankri and Porrim, who were waving her over. She smiled and sat down at the table. She had missed talking to Kankri and Porrim like she normally did back when she was still a girl to everyone.

"Hey Araneo. Glad you could come and join us." Porrim said as she took a swig of water. Aranea smiled and said hello to both.

"Araneo, if you wouldn't mind, there's something that I had been meaning to ask you about, although it seemed that you'd be a little uncomfortable about this subject, I was wondering if I could ask you about you and Meenah." Kankri asked. Aranea swallowed. What could Kankri possibly want to know?

"Uh, sure. Ask away."

"Well, I was wondering if you knew about Meenah's, er... "reputation" in school." Kankri said. Aranea was confused.

"Uh, sort of. Why?" she half lied. Kankri straightened up in his seat, and Aranea felt a huge speech coming on.

"Well it's come to my attention, and Porrim's, that you've been hanging out with her very lately, and I would advise you against it. Don't take this personally, but she's been known to do... strange things. Dangerous things, even. Now these may just be rumors, but I would be careful just in case. It's also said that her family is in a weird line of business, and that when she's gone from school for an unknown reason, it's because her family is doing something dangerous. But as I've mentioned before, these might just be silly rumors. All I'm saying is that you should be careful when you hang out around her, because she might get you into serious trouble. Or even worse, you'll be dragged into whatever mess her and her family are into."

Shocked was an understatement for what Aranea was feeling.

All this new information was taking over her brain with such speed and vigor that she almost wished that she hadn't heard Kankri's big, rambling speech. All she could do was just sit there and nod at what Kankri had said. Porrim just snickered.

"Wow Kanny, you broke him. Now he'll be a stuttering idiot for the rest of his life." she said. Kankri fumed.

"I did not "break" him thank you very much! He was just a little shell shocked, that's all! Also, don't you know how rude it is to make fun of people with stut-"

"I know Kankri, it was a joke." Porrim said in a slightly annoyed tone. Kankri just angrily turned away.

"Whatever. Just don't call me 'Kanny.' I hate it when you do that." he said quietly. Porrim cracked a smile.

"But it's so hard not to!" Kankri didn't even respond that time.

The day was done, and Aranea was excited to tell her parents all the developments that she had made so far. She burst through the front door.

"Mom! Dad! I have exciting news!" she said. After a minute of no response, Aranea remembered that they were going to be gone for another month. She sighed, slightly disappointed, but also relieved that at least she still had their number.

"That's really great dear! I'm glad you managed to get some information. Now, all you have to do is infiltrate Meenah's home, and find more secrets." her mom had said after Aranea told her the whole thing.

"Okay mom, I will."

"Good. I'm very proud of you Aranea. But I also have to get back to work, so good luck!" her mom said as she hung up the phone. Aranea hung up the phone after she did, and sighed. She was so happy that her parents were proud of her. But at the same time, she was having other feelings. Meenah seemed like such a good person once you got to know her, so she didn't really like that her mom wanted to infiltrate her house just to get information. She kind of wanted to get to know Meenah better too, like, as a friend. Aranea wanted Meenah to be innocent, just because she liked her so much. But at the same time, she knew that there was a small chance she also was guilty. It made her head hurt just thinking about it. She didn't even know what the crime was, so she decided to call mom to make sure she knew what she was doing.

"Hey mom, what exactly do you think Meenah did that was so bad anyway?" she had asked.

"Meenah's family has always been on the run from us, but this time we think that all of them committed a genocide in a small part of Italy. Mostly for money. After all, it would make sense if you're part of a mafia." her mom had said. Aranea was shocked for the second time today. Was Meenah really part of a mafia?


	6. Chapter 6

The next day, Meenah was back in school, just like normal. Although when Aranea made her way over to sit next to her, she was a bit more quiet than usual, like something had been bothering her. Aranea was concerned.

"Hey Meenah. How are you feeling?" Aranea asked quietly. Meenah just shrugged, and turned more away from Aranea than she already was.

"Hey Araneo. I'm not really feelin too hot today." she said equally as quiet as Aranea. Aranea tried to scoot over toward Meenah to get a glance at why she was hiding her face. But Meenah just moved even further away from her.

"Meenah, please just hold still so I can-" Aranea said, but stopped in the middle of her sentence. She had finally had managed to get Meenah to turn around, but was shocked to discover that she had a black eye. A nasty looking one too.

"Woah, Meenah, are you okay?" Aranea asked. Meenah nodded.

"Just got roughed up a bit. Nothin to be concerned about." But Aranea was definitely concerned. However, she couldn't show her concern, as it might trigger suspicion in Meenah. So, she ignored it.

"Well alright. So, uh, there's been something I've been meaning to ask you Meenah..." Aranea started. Meenah was now curious. She looked at Aranea with an expectant gaze.

"Uh, I was wondering if I could stay over at your house for a little while this afternoon, since we are, you know, friends and all." she finished. Meenah could feel herself blush just a little bit. Nobody had ever asked to come over to her house, especially not a boy. And she was surprised this person had actually considered her a friend. The only friends she had ever had were Kankri's younger brother (for a little while at least), a girl named Latula, another girl named Damara, and Aranea. Well, she and Aranea technically never really hung out unless they happened to see each other and had no other friends around to talk to, but when they did talk, Meenah found their conversations to be an odd mixture of cool and irritating. Kind of like when she was with Araneo. Maybe this was why she liked Araneo so much. He reminded her of a lot of Aranea...

"Well Araneo, I'm not sure if ya can come over. I gotta check with mom first. But I'll get back to ya ASAP." she said as they bell rang, dismissing them for class.

Lunch time came around very quickly, and Aranea was the epitome of anxious. She waited in the hallway like normal, and it wasn't long before Meenah arrived, with a slight smile on her face.

"Mom said yeah." she simply stated. Aranea was overjoyed.

"That's awesome!"

Lunch time passed faster than the two would've liked, and Meenah found herself being just a little bit disappointed at her friend's leaving. Usually, she didn't care considering she pushed away and hurt almost everyone that had wanted to come into her life, but Araneo was different. He cared a lot for her, so she decided to let him in, even if it meant he'd get caught up in her family's shit.

Oh, if only Meenah knew Araneo's secret...

The end of the school day came and Aranea took a deep breath. It was time to head on over to Meenah's place.

The walk home was a pleasant one, with Aranea having a good conversation with Meenah. They seemed to be even more teasing toward one another than usual, and by the time they got in the door, they were laughing harder than either of them had ever laughed. They set their backpacks down by the stairs, and Meenah told Aranea she had to take a quick trip to the bathroom before they continued on their tour of Meenah's house. It was really big, like Meenah was a rich kid or something. This was the perfect time for Aranea to investigate. Aranea took a quick lap around the kitchen and the family room, only to discover nothing out of the ordinary. There was a door just past the kitchen, but Aranea assumed it lead to a supply closet, or the garage.

Once Meenah was done, they ventured upstairs to Meenah's room. Her room was big and painted a dark fuchsia and had many sea themed decorations. She even had some posters of the bands she liked on her wall. Once again, nothing out of the ordinary.

"So Araneo, what do ya wanna do now? We have a lota things to do. We even have a big swimming pool in the basement. I think that sounds like a flippin fantastic idea. You can just take off your shirt and then I'll dry your shorts after you're done." she said as she got up and headed over to her closet. Aranea swallowed. This mission was going downhill fast.

"Hey Meenah, I don't think that's such a good idea." she said. Meenah was confused.

"Huh? Why the fuck not?"

"Because I prefer swimming with my shirt on." Meenah gave her a weird look.

"Araneo, you're one weird ass kid. Well, alright then. You can swim in your clothes." she said as she pulled out her bikini and went to change. Aranea breathed a sigh of relief until she realized one more problem: she had just started her period, and had no extra tampons. How was she supposed to ask Meenah where they were? Ugh, being a boy-girl was so hard! She'd have to think of that later. But for now, it was time to enjoy swimming with Meenah, who had just stepped out of the bathroom in her bikini. And Aranea couldn't help but stare.


	7. Chapter 7

Is it weird that the more I write this, the more I want to find out what I'd look like if I was a guy?

* * *

"Araneo, what're you starin at? Don't tell me you find me attractive." Meenah joked as she went to get towels for them.

But Aranea did find her attractive. She sighed.

_I guess there's no denying it anymore..._ she thought as she followed Meenah all the way down to the pool. She actually realized that she was bisexual when she began dating another girl a year prior to this. Since then, Aranea had denied that she was ever bi, considering she didn't know what her parents would say if she came out. But now, there was no more hiding. Honestly, it scared her just a little bit, mostly because their families were at war, and Aranea's parent's found out that she was attracted to their suspect... Aranea shuddered.

She was starting to hate this whole mission.

Meenah and Aranea had been in the pool for at least two hours before they decided it was time to get out. During that time, Aranea had figured out a way to keep her secret. She told Meenah that she'd keep her towel kept wrapped around her while her clothes dried. Also, she had gone to the bathroom to quickly locate the tampons and change.

"Wow Araneo, you just continue to fuckin amaze me with your weirdness. Aren't you just comfortable with wearing your boxers?" she asked.

"No, I just hate my chest." Aranea half lied. The full truth was that Aranea was not wearing boxers, because she ran out of clean ones. She had resorted to wearing panties, and woah would it be awkward if a guy was wearing panties. But luckily for Aranea, Meenah seemed to take this excuse. They sat by the pool for awhile, waiting until Aranea's clothes were dry. The silence they shared seemed to be awkward, until Meenah broke it.

"You know Araneo, you're one of the curviest guys I've ever seen." Aranea's heart stopped.

"W-what's that supposed to mean?"

"I dunno. You just are kinda feminine. Maybe that's why you wear all that baggy shit all the time." Meenah said with a snicker. Aranea nervously laughed. Meenah sighed.

"You know Araneo, you've been such a good guy, and my first ever legit friend. I think it's time I show you somethin. But you gotta also promise not to tell a single soul." Aranea's heart stopped for the second time. This could be it. This could be the key to success.

Meenah took her upstairs and into the kitchen, where the door Aranea saw earlier was. Meenah opened the door to reveal a small room that looked like an office. However, upon further inspection, Aranea discovered that this was no ordinary office. This was an archive room, full of maps. Maps of Italy. Aranea gasped.

_This is..!_

"What's with the sudden gasp?" Meenah questioned. Then, she glared. "Wait... Do you already know what this is? How?" Aranea was sent into panic mode.

"No, don't get the wrong ide-" but she couldn't speak anymore, for Meenah's hands were around her throat. Aranea couldn't breathe.

"If I let you go, will you tell me what you know?" Meenah asked. Aranea nodded vigorously. She let go of Aranea's throat, and Aranea gasped for air.

"I..." she gasped and choked more. "I don't know anything, I swear. I don't know what you're talking about. All I saw were those maps and those knives, and-" But Aranea was cut off again, this time by a knife blade slicing deep into her wrist. She gave a very high pitched shriek.

"Ah s-shit." she said as she clutched the wound.

"That's bullshit Araneo. If you really are Araneo, that is." Meenah said, setting the knife down beside her.

"H-huh? What're you going on about? I am Araneo."

"That voice that you just pulled sounded pretty girly to me. And you're the curviest guy I've ever seen. I don't think you're really Araneo. I think you're Aranea." she said in a dangerous tone. Aranea's eyes widened.

"N-no. I'm a dude. I might not sound like it, or look like it, but I am, I swear!" Then, Aranea was taken by surprised. Meenah grabbed a hold of her shirt and lifted it up, revealing the bandage around Aranea's chest. Then, she removed the bandage. Aranea felt her face go very hot.

"M-meenah, I-"

"I fuckin knew you were Serket!" she said in a fury. However, once she calmed down, she realized just what she was doing, and quickly let the shirt fall back into place. She was beyond embarrassed.

"S-sorry, Aranea. But, I still don't fuckin get it! How come you disguised yourself as a guy this whole time?" she asked. Aranea sighed.

"You're probably know that the FBI are onto your parents and their criminal activities. Well, they sent me to school as a boy to befriend you and get information. But as I went through the week hanging out with you, I actually found myself enjoying your company, and I wanted to get you out of your parent's peer pressure. But, I guess I can't do that now." Aranea said dejectedly. Meenah had a hurt look on her face.

"So... all that time you were just pretending to be my friend so you could get info outta me?"

"I-it's not like that! Well, it at first it was, but now I just want to make sure you're alright! What your parents are doing is dangerous! And based on those X's on the maps behind me, I assume that your family has murdered a lot more people than just one little group! Meenah, this needs to stop." she said. But Meenah just got mad.

"Who cares what you think Serket! You know what? Go ahead, report my good for nothin, abusive parents to the FBI! You can take all of these maps and tell 'em where my parents' hideouts are too! But just think about the consequences. My family has eyes everywhere. Your family could be next on the hit list." she said dangerously. Aranea was terrified. And suddenly, Meenah did something completely unusual.

She pulled Aranea toward her, and kissed her.


	8. Chapter 8

This chapter is slightly short, but has some fluff =^.^=

* * *

Aranea was stunned. She pulled back.

"M-meenah. I... wow." was all she could say.

"Sorry Serket. You just looked so terrified, and I got nervous." she said, blushing and letting go of her. Aranea gave a small smile.

"Thanks Meenah. But, what're we gonna do now? If your family is caught, you'll be put into juvenile detention. If my family becomes a target, I'll have to move again. And it's obvious that we both feel the same way about each other." she said with a huge blush.

"I dunno Serket. The only thing I can think of is that we could pull a Romeo and Juliet. You know, without dyin of course." she said.

"But... would that really work? I just... I'm supposed to follow in my parent's footsteps."

"Same here. It could turn out to be a huge problem if we're supposed to hate each other."

"Well, what if we told them that we didn't want to follow in their footsteps?"

"Oh Hell no. Mom would kill me."

"Yeah, I guess mine would too. Ugh, this is so hard!" Aranea said as she slumped to the floor. Meenah sat next to her and put an arm around her shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay Serket. We'll figure somethin out. Let's just act normal 'til that time comes, okay?" Aranea looked up at her.

"Okay."

The pair stayed on the ground for another hour, cuddling and talking about random interests of theirs. It made them feel good just being with each other.

"Hey Aranea, thanks for bein there for me when no one else cared. And I'm glad that you like me too, because I've kinda had a crush on you for awhile, even before you were Araneo." Meenah admitted sheepishly. Aranea only smiled and gave her a small kiss on the cheek.

"Meenah, you're by far the most interesting person I've ever had the pleasure of talking to, even if you do annoy me sometimes. I just want you to be happy. I really would like to spend as much time as possible with you." she said.

"Yeah, sounds good." Meenah said with a small smile.

A few minutes later, it was time for Aranea to go home. The duo embraced by the door.

"Oh, Serket?" Meenah called out as Aranea began to leave.

"Yes?"

"Sorry for stabbin' ya."

"Heh. It's alright Meenah."

Later that night, Aranea couldn't get her mind of off Meenah. She was coming up with all different kinds of plans for them. She even considered Meenah's crazy Romeo and Juliet idea. It could work, except her parents were pretty much experts at finding missing people. Plus if they did get caught, how would they explain why they had ran away in the first place? Aranea sighed and looked down at her necklace.

_I said I'd catch the criminal and bring her to justice, but I'm not even sure if I want to do that anymore. In fact, I don't even know if I want to be in the FBI anymore. It seems fun and challenging, but all those innocent people like Meenah getting caught up in her parent's line of business... I think I just have too much sympathy for most people. And it really is a dangerous job anyway... I don't know what to do._ she thought. She wanted Meenah to stay, but her parents had to go.

_But how am I supposed to get Meenah out of danger and bring her parents to justice without becoming a target? It's not like I can just take her with me..._

Wait a minute...

Aranea smiled. It was time to create a plan.


	9. Chapter 9

Aranea's plan was set in motion the next day at school. Lunch time was when she told Meenah exactly what she was thinking.

"Huh. You sure are smart Serket. But, how're you supposed to convince your parents to move again? It would just be so sudden."

"Easy. I'll just tell them that I messed up the mission and now I'm in danger. Then when we move, I'll tell them the exact coordinates of the HQ of the Peixes'. And you'll be with me the whole time, hiding in the back of the moving truck." Meenah nodded, but then looked kind of sad.

"Well, you're plan is good and shit, but I still feel kinda bad, ya know? Like, I'm goin against my own family. And I'm leavin poor Fef behind to deal with shit on her own." Aranea nodded, understanding completely.

"Meenah, once your family is caught, they'll all be locked away regardless. You'll be sent away, and Feferi will most likely be separated from you and everyone else. And you can take Feferi with you when we move. But honestly, if you're really that loyal to your family, you can stay here. I'm not forcing you to choose sides."

"No! I ain't gonna be under mom's thumb anymore. I hate being her little scratching post. I'm gonna go with you and be happy for the first time in 10 years." she said, determined. Aranea smiled.

_She's a strong girl... I admire that_.

About a week passed after their conversation, and luckily for Aranea, her parents were coming back today. This had given Meenah and Feferi enough time to pack up their things and come up with good excuses to tell their mom where they were going and why. Meenah took a deep breath, hoping Aranea was busy telling her parents that she'd been discovered. She remembered a conversation that she'd had with Feferi. Poor, poor Feferi, who didn't really understand much of what was going to happen.

"Meenah, after we get out of here, won't mom be sad?" she had asked.

"No Fef. The only thing she'll care about is money. That's all she cares about. She only had us because it makes her look normal." she had told her little sister in a more gentle tone than she had used before.

"I dunno sis, I'm kinda scared. I haven't even finished up 8th grade yet!" Meenah had just shrugged.

"Don't worry, it ain't that hard. And freshman year'll be good too, because you're a pretty smart kid." Feferi had smiled at that.

Meenah took another big sigh. She was beginning to get nervous because Aranea was taking longer than expected.

Back at Serket household, Aranea was waiting for her parents, who still hadn't returned.

"Hey Aranea! There's a message for you on the voicemail. It's from mom and dad and the chief. I dunno why, but they said they wanted you to hear before me. Must be important." her sister Vriska had called out when Aranea got home from grocery shopping. Aranea's heart stopped. The last time a message like this came up, Aranea's father had lost his arm. He got it replaced, but she couldn't help but feel like this time it was something more than just losing an arm. Aranea played the message.

'"Aranea, this is your mother."' it started out. Aranea heard her sniffle, and her voice cracked as she talked. Her heart began to pound. '"Last night, your father and I tried to apprehend two of the nation's Most Wanted."' By the this time, her mom sounded like she was on the verge of breaking down. '"Unf-fortunately, one of them got ah-hold of your father, and... killed him."' At this point, her mom had begun to sob, and then the message cut off. Aranea just stood there, having trouble processing what she was just told.

"N-no. No! This can't be happening!" she yelled, breaking down then and there. She heard Vriska rush into the room, then saw the horrified look on her sister's face as she saw her older sister laying there, in tears.

"Aranea! What happened?" she asked as she sat down to comfort her sister. Aranea sniffled and played the recording for Vriska. By the time it was done, Vriska was in tears too. She had ran to her room and slammed the door, leaving Aranea to call her mom and find out what was going on.

"Hello dear. I'm assuming you heard the news." her mom said sullenly.

"Yes."

"Okay. Well, I'm coming home tomorrow, and we're moving immediately." Then, she hung up. Aranea was surprised. She had to tell Meenah.

Unfortunately, Meenah was now dealing with problems on her own. Her mom had just come home from god knows where, and had made a big announcement.

"Hey girls! We're going somewhere good tomorrow!"

"Oh yeah? And where is that?" Meenah had asked, trying to remain calm, but really freaking out on the inside.

"Italy! And we're staying for a whole three weeks! So pack your bags, cuz you gotta get up early tomorrow."

_Shit. Serket, your mom better be home by 5:00 am, or we're totally screwed._

__But that was just wishful thinking.


	10. Chapter 10

Aranea, having just heard Meenah's predicament, was sent into panic mode. She called her mom again and urged her to come home quickly. But it looked like luck was on the Serket's side, for her mom would be returning home at midnight that night, and arranged to have one of the Uhaul trucks there so she could do the driving herself. Marquise was under a great deal of grief, but wanted to prove to her children that they could manage alone. Therefore, they'd be leaving town at midnight that night. Aranea was overjoyed when she heard this, but couldn't start celebrating quite yet. There was still the fact that Meenah and Feferi had to somehow get to her house by midnight.

_Oh wait! She and Fef could just ask for a sleepover!_ Aranea brought out her phone and updated Meenah on the situation. Meenah thought the sleepover plan was perfect.

A few hours later, at around ten at night, Meenah and Feferi had shown up at the Serket's door, exactly as planned. They had their huge duffel bags with them, which their mom deemed inappropriate for just a one night sleepover. But little did she know that those bags contained more than just clothes.

At around eleven at night, Marquise pulled up in the garage, which was a signal for the two Peixes to hide somewhere. Meenah couldn't help but feel her heart pound in excitement.

_No more being beat for doin' somethin wrong. No more bein forced to watch people die. I'm almost home free..._

Feferi was having similar thoughts.

_I can't believe I don't have to go into a life of drugs and crime! Maybe if Ms. Serket allows us to stay, I can finally practice becoming a great swimmer instead of how to kill people in thirty different ways._

Meanwhile, Marquise was exhausted from the long car ride back. But she wouldn't give up strength just yet, for she was too stubborn, and wouldn't let her daughters down.

"Come on girls. Let's get packing."

It had taken them at least two hours to pack everything in that Uhaul truck.

_Come to think of it, how did mom manage to get a truck at midnight?_ Aranea wondered. The FBI probably helped out a little bit, but it was still weird that her mom had gotten a truck _at midnight._ Seriously, that logic was just a little bit ridiculous, but Aranea was glad that it was.

"Girls, all the heavy stuff has been moved. I'm going to go take a break, and you can move your clothes and such, okay?" Ms. Serket said as she went to her bedroom. Aranea smiled.

_Perfect._

The closet door in which Meenah and Feferi had hidden in was suddenly opened by a cheerful Aranea. They quickly headed out the door, and Aranea brought Meenah and Feferi to hide behind a cabinet. Then, Vriska and Aranea proceeded to pack everything as normal. By the time Marquise's break was over, the two sisters had packed everything up.

"Wow girls, I'm impressed on how fast you packed up. Just wait for me to pack up my stuff, okay?" she said as she retreated into her bedroom once more. As soon as she was out of sight, Vriska tapped Aranea on the shoulder.

"Do you mind explaining why we're bringing Feferi and her sister along? You never did tell me." she said. Aranea quickly explained.

"Oh. Wow, that sounds like it sucks." Vriska said.

"Do you like Feferi?" Aranea asked, knowing that both of them were in the same grade.

"Yeah, she's alright. She's never bothered me before, and we've had a couple good conversations." Aranea nodded and Vriska continued. "But you know, it's pretty cool that I get to bring the one person that irritates me the least. Although I probably would've preferred to bring Kanaya or John, Feferi's a good kid, and I understand her situation." she said with a smile. Aranea smiled too. Vriska had had a much better reaction to this than she thought.

Finally, it was time to leave. Ms. Serket started up the van, and they were off to... Well, Aranea wasn't quite sure where.

"Uh mom? Where exactly are we moving too? And what's going to happen to the house?"

"We're moving to Nevada. And the house will be taken care of by the FBI. They're going to spiff it up for the new owners." she said. Aranea nodded, taking note of her mom's weariness.

"Hey mom, you look really tired. Mind if I take over?" Aranea asked.

"But you don't have your license yet dear."

"But I'm still with you. It'll be okay, dad taught me the basics." Aranea said, regretting mentioned her dad. But Marquise sighed and pulled over so Aranea could take over.

_Don't you worry Meenah, we'll get you away from here..._ she thought.

Meanwhile, Meenah and Feferi had sat quietly in the back. Technically they were able to talk, but they were just too jittery. Their dreams were finally coming true. They both looked down at the scars and wounds on their body's, and the painful memories of people being murdered right before their very eyes.

_Look at how far I've come_. both thought as they began to doze off. The only thing left to do was convince Marquise to let them stay.


	11. Chapter 11

It was two in the morning by the time the five had arrived to the new house in Nevada. Exhausted but still determined, Aranea, Vriska, Feferi, and Meenah unloaded everything while Ms. Serket slept. With the four of them working, all the stuff was unloaded in under an hour, which meant it they had an extra few to sleep. Vriska and Aranea's beds were pretty good sized, so the two Peixes could sleep with them until something else was figured out.

"I'm so glad you're here Meenah." Aranea said as she drifted off to sleep. Meenah smiled and cuddled up next to her.

"Yeah. Me too Serket." she said, giving her a peck on the cheek.

It was around ten in the morning when Aranea awoke. She was up before anybody, so she decided to make breakfast. Apparently, the smell of bacon and waffles was enough to wake up Feferi and Vriska, who rushed out and sat down. Aranea gave a light chuckle.

"I suppose you both are hungry. Give me one more minute and I'll be ready." she said as the two grabbed out plates, napkins, and utensils. Meenah, upon hearing the clatter, had walked into the kitchen, and grabbed a plate of her own.

When the four sat down to eat, Aranea decided it was a good time for a meeting.

"Now that we're all here, we should all probably get showers, and Meenah and Feferi can borrow some clothes from Vriska and I. It should make a good impression on mom, right?" The three nodded. Aranea gave a deep breath.

_Thank god. I really need some re-assurance right now_.

After breakfast, the five watched TV, waiting for Ms. Serket to get up. To be honest, Aranea didn't like the tension that was in the air. She wanted to break the silence, but who knows what would happen if she did.

"...anea."

_Huh?_

"Aranea?" The others looked to Aranea, recognizing the sound of her mother's voice. She quickly stood up and stiffly walked to her mom's bedroom.

"Hello dear! I smell breakfast." Ms. Serket said as soon as Aranea entered the room. Aranea nodded, not knowing what else to say. Ms. Serket got up and stretched, and followed her daughter to the kitchen.

"Aranea? Why is the TV on?" her mom asked.

_Oh. I guess she can't see the heads behind the couch._

"Just wanted to watch TV." Aranea's mom nodded, but was kind of skeptical. Aranea wasn't the type of girl to get up just to watch TV, so this was new. Suddenly, Vriska hopped up from the couch.

"Hey mom. Didja have a good rest?" she asked. Her mom nodded, but was now suspicious.

"Alright, something must have happened with the two of you, because this is not like you. What's going on?" Suddenly, the three heard an exasperated sigh from behind the couch.

"Man, I can't take this anymore. C'mon Fef, let's introduce ourselves." Meenah said as she and her sister stood up. Ms. Serket gasped.

"Meenah... Peixes? And Feferi Peixes?" It was now Feferi's turn to gasp.

"How did you know who we were?" Ms. Serket, still in a bit of shock, tried to explain.

"Well, your family is pretty sneaky, but not that sneaky. We've got a lot of files of different family members. And anyway, what are you two doing here? How did you get here? And, what's even going on?" Aranea sighed. She and Meenah explained the whole thing from the beginning, leaving Ms. Serket in a bewildered state. She didn't know whether to congratulate Aranea on making a well devised plan, scold her for not asking her first, turn Meenah and her sister in to the police, or all three. She eventually decided that the most important thing was to make sure the Peixes' mom wasn't aware of the exact location of her daughters. Upon investigation, it had seemed that their mom had already flown to Italy without them. Meenah scowled.

"Figures. Mom wouldn't care if we were dead or alive." she said bitterly, while her sister looked hurt. Next, she had a big decision to make. Will they stay, or not? Ms. Serket sighed.

"Well, if they're already here, we might as well allow them to stay. But Aranea, you really should've asked me first!" Ms. Serket said. The four looked at each other with jubilant looks, and jumped for joy. They may have not known that part of the reason Ms. Serket allowed them to stay was because she hoped to lure their parents in for arrest, but they really couldn't care. As long as they were out of harm's way, they were happy. Aranea hugged Meenah, and the duo's hearts raced as they hugged. What a fantastic ending to such a long journey.

* * *

Next chapter is the last!


	12. Epilogue

Epilogue

It was a warm, summer day. Meenah and Aranea were on their way to becoming juniors in high school, and life was good for the new freshmen Feferi and Vriska. A lot had happened after Meenah and Feferi had come to live with the Serket's. For one, Mrs. Peixes had finally been captured in Italy, and the rest of the family was imprisoned as well. Meenah and Aranea had gone on their first date, to a nice movie theater. They still weren't comfortable sharing their relationship with her mom, but they figured they'd do it eventually. Vriska and Feferi had even made a few love interests of their own. Life was pretty good.

Currently, the five were at the beach, visiting Aranea's grandparents. They had been so intrigued to hear everything that had gone on with Aranea and Meenah the past year. The conversation started out quite interesting too.

"Aranea, what happened to all of your lovely hair?" her grandmother had asked with slight disapproval. "You look like a boy now. And you've dyed it blonde, not that it looks bad, but I just don't understand! And your friend has quite the short haircut too!" Aranea's grandpa just looked at both of them and sighed.

"I'll never understand kids these days." Aranea just sighed and shook her head while Meenah had snickered. This was going to be a long explanation for sure.

By the time the two had explained everything, her grandparents understood, but still didn't understand why Aranea had to be the boy, and not Meenah, even though she had explained it at least ten times.

"Well anyway dear, we're so glad you were able to carry out the mission successfully. The Sufferer and your dad would've been proud." Aranea smiled and looked down at her necklace. Yeah. Both would've been, not only because she was successful, but because she challenged herself and thought outside of the box. And even when everything didn't go according to plan, she found a way to compromise. She smiled at Meenah, a signal that meant 'let's go down to the water and relax.'

The day had come to an end, and the sunset was beautiful. Hues of yellow, orange, and pink filled up the sky as Meenah and Aranea sat by the shore, holding hands and feeling the waves lap softly at their feet.

"Hey Serket. How do ya think life for us will be from now on? Just askin." Meenah had asked while absentmindedly drawing circles in the sand. Aranea just smiled.

"I'm not sure. But what I do know is that every second will be worth it as long as I'm with you." Meenah grinned, tilted Aranea's chin up toward her, and kissed passionately.

_Being a boy was a terrible pain, but I'm so glad I did it. After all, I would've never gotten to be close to Meenah if I hadn't. I wonder what other surprises lie ahead?_

* * *

Short epilogue is short! Anyway, thank you thank you thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed. It makes me so happy to see all of you enjoy my story :D


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